Driving-mechanism guard.



C. SEAMAN.

DRIVING MECHANISM GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12. 1913.

1,1 16,134. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Z SHEETS SHEET 1.

G. SEAMAN. DRIVING MECHANISM GUARD.

APPLIOATION FILBD'NOV. 12,1913.

Patented Nov. 3, 19%

2 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

R m M N a 1,451? NEW Y0 N. ASSIGNOB-DF DEE-Halal? TO MWESE'MOEWEN- l 1 OF'ZBMOKLYN, NEW 'YOE'K.

nawnm-mncnmxw comm Specification of utters patent.

Patented Nov; 3. 1am.

n neaneamm novm'mr 12, an. eeriemweuo'wer.

'Totitl whom it may concern:

Ee it that- 1; Gimmes SEAMAN,- a citizen er the Uhite d States, residin at the horoiighof'Brooklyn, "city of New ork, in'thec'ounty of Kings and State of New Yerk, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving-Mechanism Guards, of whichthefellowing'is a specificatiom'reference being held therein to the accom anying drawings formin'g partthereof. Mg invention relates tognard devices and is, more particnlarly, a gu'ard for'the'idriving mechanism of power-driven sewing in'achines. I

. An important object of my invention is the'protection of the operators and'others from injury.

Another object is to-proteet the work'or material being sewed' and-the clothing of the operator from soiling.

Othierobjects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter 111398851.

Heretofore a narrow board or bar, called a skirt 'guard,has been'placed across'the machinea'slighhdistance above thefloor rearwardly from the treadle and the feet of the o erator and forwardly of the power she or drive shaft of the machine. The skirt guards are very inefiective at best, and are frequently out of lace. Moreover, should an operator drop 11 artic'leon'the floor, in bending over or steeping to pick it up, there'is serious danger of'her'hair becoming entangled with some part of the driving mechanism, and such accidents have resulted in severe in'ury. Sometimes a transmission belt will reak and the loose end, striking'the-operator,wil1 give her a sudden fright, causing her to lose control of the machine, the'usual result being that'the needle iierces her finger. Also sometimes a 'pieee work operator will throw ofif the transmission belt with her-foot, elaimin it has dropped 01?, with'the'object of hav n'g the belt'ti-ghtened so as to get'more speed out-other machine. Also in rebelting, the adjuster, if a novice, will invariably place his arm over the shaft, and' this is very dangerous. 'Ithas also been'the common practice heretofore to attach a cloth apron to the front of the'machine; thereby to'protect the work and the clothin gof the'eperator to'some extent from oil and grease, but theseaprons-themselves quickly *beeorne the lace-cf and far ing both s'eparately 'and c soiled, an'd'are neither'eflective norsanb tary. Operatorsfin ah efiort top'rote't' the work'froii'ioil and usually I I work acrossthe'top of't'he work 'box, hich for that purpose isp'iished iiniiul'ynzir the machine and is often 1511theda gaihst'the transmission me'ehahism. "Further-triers, many machines arehqhigfied "with a kneelift, and the cloth apron} as rove'd a-great inconvenience'inthe operati 'ofsnch eme'hin'es.

The g'ua'tddeviee of-uiyinventien takes 'ireeflectiv'ely erforms the fiih'etiohs of both theorem s ii't afd andthe ustialh ron'an'd aiso'perrm's important addit on'al funtions, in fact it efi'ectivel'y remedies and removes all the da gers and'obj'ecti'onsdf the heieinl'iefqre'notedheretofore cbmmhh" ra'ctice.

My inventihn ineiudes'aplum ity rifgiizi'rti sections hinged tkigether -and adapted to he arranged so as t'O extend beneath thehiachine table in th'ehfia'fle Between the machine table and the floor-and interposed'between'the operetor'and the dritin'g meehanism of the machine, the usird sectieas be o lectively'foldahie for access to the parts of 1 the machine and the being detachahly held in'placeat'tl'x'eiguarding or protective position by disconneetible means. 1

My intention more particularly includes features'of oonstriretion and combinatie nsv pianein'dicatedhy the line 2--2"of Fig. 1-

as viewed'from-thefri'ght. .Fi'gJBis-a annilar view indicated byline3- 3 of F 1, parts ofthe'maehine'hein'g omittetl 'an' the folded position of the rd being indicated by broken lines. tie a horizonart! of m tel section en a piano intlicatedliy the line 4 -4; of Fig'. 1"as viewed fromabove, parts of the'nraohine being omitted. Fig. 5 is a perspective of the-guard device unattaehed toa machine. y

The accompanying drawingmre direeeed more particularly to the guard device of my invention, but, for the purposes of better illustration and for a proper understanding of the invention, the principal parts of a power-driven factory sewing machine ,of a usual. construction are also shown. The complete guard device of my invention, as illustrated in the drawings, may be made entirely ofmetal and japanned. The guard illustrated in the drawings includes'four sheet metal guard sections hinged together. A lower guard section 1 inclines slightly forward and is rigidly su ported in this position with. its lower or go spaced a. few inches from the floor, by means of angular supporting legs 2, shown as two in number, one leg adjacent to each end of the guard section. The guard section 1 may be secured to'the legs 2 by means of rivets as shown, and the legs 2 are shown as fastened to the door by means of screws. The lower rigidly supported guard section 1 extends from near the frame of the machine at the left of the machine to a point adjacent to p the treadle-rod of the machine, as appears. in Fig. 1, and is located rearward of the treadle and forward of the drive shaft of the machine (Figs. 2 and 4;), shown as provided with the usual belt pulleys, etc.

A main or middle guard section 3 is of the same length as and coterminous with the lower guard section 1 and is hinged at its lower edge to the upper edge of the lower guard section, by means ofhinges l. The middle guard section 3 is wider than the lower guard section 1 and, in the protective position, extends in a vertical position well up toward the table of the machine beneath the table, but clearing the machine parts, such as the usual box or drawer, as clearly appears in Fig. 1. Disconnectible means,

for detachably holding this middle guard section in the upright or protective position are provided. A supportingbar 5 is rigidly secured, as by rivets as indicated, to the middle guard section'3 at near the middle ofitslengthand projects beyondor above the upper edge of this guard section and is .of a length to just clear the lower surface of the machine table, as most clearly appears in Fig.3. The upper end of the bar 5 is provided with a latch 6, shownas of a usual construction, a keeper 7 for the latch being attached to the lower side of the table. B disengaging the bolt of the latch 6 from the lreeper 7, the middle or main guard section 3 may be folded forward and ownward to the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3.- i

A 7 smaller upper guard section 8 is hinged at its lower edge to the upper edge of the middle guard section 3, by means of hinges 9. The upper guard section 8 eatends in length from midway of themi'ddle guard section 3 to the end thereof at the misuse right as seen from the front l, l and 5). in its protective position, the upper guard section 8 extends from the upper edge of the middle guard section 3 upward and forward at substantially an angle of forty-five degrees and terminates at the lower surface of thetable of the machine near the front edge thereof, and may be detachably held at this position by means of a disconnectible device shown as'a screw-eye l0 entering the material of the table from below and forming a button. The upper guard section 8 is opposite the shuttle mechanism of the machine, and the upper corner at the right of this guard section is shown as cut away or notched, so as to clear projecting parts of the machine in folding, such as the knee-lift device appearing in Fig. l. By turning the button 10, the upper section 8 may befolded downward relatively to the middle section 3, or it may be folded down with and beneath the middle section, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3.

A lateral guard section 11 is hinged at one of its ends to the adjacent end of the middle guard section 3' at the right, as viewed from the frontof the machine, by means of hinges 12, and may swing horizontally on these hinges and also may fold downward with the middle section 3. The lateral guard section 11 is of generally curved shape, having two plane vertical portions at right angles to each other and joined by anintermediate bent or curved portion. In the protective position, the lateral guard section 11 extends first forward from the middle guard section 3 at right angles thereto and then, through the curved portion, extends laterally parallel with the middle guard section 3. The forward portion of thelateral guard section 11' extends up to the lower side of the table, but the rear portion is cut away at the top, so as, in folding horizontally, to clear the upper guard section 8 and projecting parts of the machine, such as the knee-lift device The lateral guard section 11 may he detachably held at the protective position by disconnectible means, shown as a hook 113 pivoted on this guard section adjacent to its upper edge and engageahle with a small eye It shown as carried by the sewingmachine table at its under side (Figs. 1 and 2). The lateral guard section 11 in its protective position is located both at the side of and forward of the transmission mechanism of the machine, including the usual belted cone pulley, as clearly appears from l igs. l, 2 and l of the drawings.

lit will be seen, as perhaps most clearly appears in Fig. 5, that my invention provides a unitary device which may be readily separately manufaetured and installed on power-driven factory sewing machines, as

shown in the other figures of the drawings. The up er guard section 8 may be readily dropped down alone to gain access to the shuttle mechanism. The lateral guard section 11 may be turned. on its hinges horizontally, like a door, to gain access to the trans mission mechanism. To render the driving shaft and its adjuncts, at the back of the machine, accessible, the main or middle guard section 3 is let down, together with the upper guard section 8 and the lateral guard section 11, the entire driving mechanism of the machine then being accessible, the upper guard section 8 folding under the middle ard section 3 out of the way, as ap ears in broken lines in Fig. 3.

en the several sections of the guard device are fastened at the protective position, no part of the operators' person or clothin can come into contact with any part 0 the driving mechanism, as clearly appears from the drawings, particularly Fig. 1, and all danger from this source is eliminated. Moreover, oil and grease from no part of the machine, such as from the shuttle mechanism, from the transmission mechanism, or from the driving shafting, can reach 'either the work or the clothing of the operator. p c

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above articularly described within the prinoip e and scope of my invention.

ll claim:

1. A driving mechanism guard forpowerdriven sewing machines, comprising, 1n combination, a plurality of guard sections hinged together, including a rigidly suported. lower guard section, a downwardly oldable midd e guard section hinged at its lower edge to theup'per edge of the lower guard section, disconnectible means for detachably holding the middle guard section at the protective position, a downwardly foldable upper guard section hinged to the u per edge of the middle guard section and oldable downward relatively thereto and also therewith, and disconnectible means for detachably-holdingthe upper guard section at the protective position.

2. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewing machines, comprising, in combination, a pluralit of guard sections hinged together, inc riding a rigidly sup ported lower guard section, a downwardly foldable main guard section hinged at its lower edge to t e upper edge of the lower ard section, disconnectiblemeans for detachably holding the main guard section at the protective'position, a horizontally foldable lateral guard section hinged at one of its ends to. one of the ends of the main guard section and foldahle both horizontally relabinatiori, a pluralit tively thereto and downward therewith, and disconnectible means for detachably holding the lateral guard section at the protective position.

3. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewing machines, comprising, in comof guard sections hinged together, inc uding a rigidly supported lower guar section, a downwardly foldable middle guard section hinged at its lower edge to the upper edge of the lower guard section, disconnectible means for detachably holding the middle guard section at the protective position, a downwardly foldable upper guard section hinged to the upper edge of the middle guard section and foldable downward relatively thereto and also therewith, disconnectible means for detachably holding the upper guard section at the protective position, a horizontally foldable lateral guard section hinged at one of its ends to one of .the ends of the middle guard section and foldable both horizontally relatively thereto and downward therewith, and disconnectible means for detachably holding the lateral guard section at the pro tective position.

4. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewing machines, comprising, in combination, a plurality of guard sectionshinged together, includin a main guard section pivotally supports along its lower edge to fold downward, disconnectible means for detachably holding the main guard section at the protective position, a 'down= wardly foldable upper guard section hinged to the upper edge of the main guard section and foldable downward relatively thereto and also therewith, and disconnectible means for detachably holding the upper guard section at the protective position.

5. A driving mechanism guard for power- I driven sewing machines, comprising, in combination, a plurality of guard sections hinged together, including a main guard section pivotally supported along its lower edge to fold downward, disconnectible means for detachably holding the main guard section at the protective position, a horizontally foldable lateral guard section hinged at one of its ends to one of the ends of the main guard section and foldable both horizontally relatively thereto and downwardly therewith, and 'disconnectible means for detachably holding the lateral guard section at the protective position.

6. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewin machines, comprising, in combination, a p urality of guard sections hinged together, including a main guard section pivotally supported along its lower edge to fold downward, disconnectible means for detachably holding the main guard section at the protective position, a downwardly foldable upper guard section hinged to the upper edge of the main guard section and ioldable downward relatively thereto and also therewith, disconnectible means for detachably holding the upper guard section at the protective position, a horizontally foldalole lateral guard section hinged at one of its ends to one of the ends of the main guard section and foldable both horizontally relatively thereto .and downwardly therewith, and disconnectible meansfor-detachalcly holding the lateral guard section at the protective position.

7. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewing machines, comprising, in combination, a lower guard section, means for rigidly supporting the lower guard section in a forwardly inclinedposition, a middle guard section hinged at its lower edge to the upper edge of the lower guard section, disconnectible means for detachably sup portingthe middle guard section in substantially vertical position, an upper guard section hinged at its lower edge to the upperedge of the middle guard section, disconnectible means for detachably supporting the upper guard section in a forwardly inclined position, a forwardly and laterally-extending curved lateral-guard section hinged at one of its ends to one or the ends of the middle guard section to swing in substantially horizontal planes, and disconneetihle means for manner,-

detaehaloly holding the lateral guard section at the extended'position.

8. A driving mechanism guard for powerdriven sewing machines, comprising, in com- 9. A driving mechanism guard for power- A driven sewing machines, comprising, in combination, a middle and an upper and a lower guard section all hinged together to fold, a lateral guard section hinged tothe middle guard section, and separate disconnectible holding devices for the middle and upper and lateral guard sections, respectively, for

holding each of such guard sections at the protective position.

In testimonywhereoi l have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES SEAMAN.

Witnesses VVM, Asrrrur IQELLY,

KENNETH W. Wronrnrs. 

